i wanna rock you...allll night....

WE HAVE MICHAEL JACKSON ON THE NEW CD...

that is all...

this damn machine wouldn't let me post since November, which means i have a LOT of catching up to do...

shall i make a list?

1. the real manager broke herself, enter the fake manager that deals with real problems
2. i wiped out running very fast on a washed floor when realizing the drive thru wasn't locked *after* the alarm was already started...a month later, my knee still hurts...i didn't have to carry any sanitizing trays, or gallons of milk from the back for 2 weeks...now everyone steadily reminds me *every single time* a mop comes out of the sink that the floor will be wet, and for me not to wipe out again...
3. we serve coffee to people

now that we're caught up, i'd like to say that i am officially over my little thing that happened a couple of months ago, which is really vague and pointless to reference, because even if after 15 years the internet is still around, i won't even know what the fuck i'm referencing...but, i'm over it...life's little mysteries "grandma , why did you have so many online journals?"

the bar is not a machine, it could quite possibly be a very angry woman, perhaps a crack addict, that was hit by an off duty police man sometime in february somewhere in middle america, reincarnated into portafilters and buttons, and set up in the corporate coffee world that i call my third home...

I've become accustomed to cleaning the bar, and purocaff has become part of my daily existence. I actually had a chance to taste it several days ago after someone hid the little rubber thingies that you shove into the openings (which reminds me a lot of a diaphragm, while we're personifying things) so the portafilters line up and don't squirt all over the place. So there I was, flushing my little heart out to that *extremely annoying* music that i can only place in the musical genre of electronic western, when the damn water squirts all over my arms. Somehow, from the bar to the drive-thru i managed to lick my left arm (which is always nice to mention when you're working in the food industry, the working class hero cleansing oneself with her own tounge "grande non fat latte?...have a nice day!"), and it's really not something i would reccomend, and at the same time, i don't think you can be a certified barista without tasting all of the cleaning products. In fact, just yesterday I found myself with a mouthful of that squeezy white bleach stuff (that is, by the way, not a good thing to leave on the sink for long periods of time, not only for obvious corrosion reasons, but simply because it is a bitch and a half to wipe off when it dries) after squeezing the paper towel roll really hard for no damn reason, and having it pop out of my hands, and into the newly squeezed handwashing sink full of the stuff. I thought I went blind for a good three minutes before I heard the drive thru bell ring and realized I was still alive, and had the fridge's to wipe down before 9...

so now i love Chai, because i'm schitzo like that...in fact, i remember very vaguely drinking it before, somewhere in a far away land called Elmwood Ave....i'm also sincerely obsessed with Passion tea, it's like...you don't even have to garnish it...

holy fucking awesome fruit of the herb god, batman, i love Tazo...

I nearly forgot that Starbucks has been my home for years now, "the third place" that we're all held at mocha powder point to uphold. I nearly forgot how easy it is to forget, and it's not because I do drugs (even though i don't beth, i really don't, no seriously...i don't ), sometimes we just lose what's not important and concentrate on what is, and then realize that the things you thought were important don't make much sense at all, and you have to sanitize everything EVERY NIGHT, even though shit is falling apart like you've been eating too much protein...

I go through stages of getting my partner drinks....see, for all of you dirty blooded non-baristas, we're allowed three free drinks around and about our shifts, this privilidge is continued for us to "explore" everything the company has to offer, so that when some fine customer asks the difference between Columbia and Ethiopia Sidamo, i can stare at them blankly because i spent most of my time drinking tazo citrus...(i didn't copy everyone else's coffee passports beth, i really didn't...no i'm serious, i didn't)

it started off with iced tall soy white chocolate mocha's...

i must admit that i down white chocolate mocha's like when forrest gump was invited to the white house for being an all american football player, and he must have had himself about 15 dr. peppers...in fact, in the mornings, i'm forrest gump-ish, as my "drive-thru" ear hasn't been established, and then i reprimand the customer like "there's no whip on caramel macchiato's!" when they want a caramel frappucino, or "we don't have any cupcakes!?" when they asked for a tall coffee...

then it was caramel apple ciders, although we're not supposed to mark them out, i like to use the short cups, so i don't feel so bad about it...

i use tazo citrus like it's my favorite whore, because it could never replace the WCM deep down in my soul, and yet at the same time, i have a loyalty for the blender area of the store...

now i'm officially into tea...(refer to paragrah one)

The Christmas party is being planned, although the exact date is still up in the air. Our Christmas drinks are in full swing, the decorations are up, and we're already pimpin the new holiday CD's, the Ave Maria and the Jingle bells, because we're Starbucks, and we can do whatever the heck we want...and don't worry, Kosher folks, we've got dradel cookies somewhere off to the side of jesus holding a short caffe la-tay cider in the manger...

in fact, if i owned Starbucks, i would have a plethora of opportunities for diversity...like plain white cookies with white frosting for atheists and perhaps a couple of things that don't scream "JESUS JESUS JESUS! BUY ME I'M JESUS!"

I hope Sarah makes it out of her apartment on time, and I hope she finds a wild pack of dogs to slob all over the premisis...i can't spell, eh?

I got to pick a name out of a bag for the "Secret Santa"(because we're non-denominational, like that)...someone's going to Ames for a wolf t-shirt and a slinky in the next couple of weeks...and it's not Jesus...

hello...sliding lobby!

it's been ::::::::::::::checks green and white watch::::::::::::three months?!

what to say what to say...how to catch up with everything...

we've bonded, molded as a team...three people have already left, some more missed than others...

last week, we had our first partner fun night, where we *actually* knew each other...i was quite fond of seeing one of my favorite barista's before he left for his "dream" job in "Tahoe"...some fucking stoners get everything handed to them ;). The first time we attempted this out-of-work mingling, the store hadn't opened yet. Most of them stood there, with their respective beer bottles, blabbering nervously about absolutely nothing...flash three months later, where I'm shoving Leanne out of the way to grab the last gooey cheese fry that everyone touched, as everyone talks over each other, using the appropriate gestures that make them, well...them...

i never thought i'd make such a large extension to my family in such a short period of time...it's like being in highschool, but this time, they can't make you leave...unless you...we're not going to touch *that* one...

i'm a night person...the night crew, NEVER to be confused with the morning crew...the division is tremendous, and on Saturday's at 6am, when i have to drag my lazy ass off the couch and transport myself into their little world, i am lost, nearly as lost as they would be, if they were to be up until midnight, making sure the precious white chocolate mocha pumps had not a spot goo on them...

apparently, there's a super special "barista's only" webpage...i'm going to go check that out now ::::::::::sticks out Chai-stained tounge::::::::::::

i'm lying...i've never tasted Chai...on top of that, i've never had a regular cup of Starbucks Coffee, and i apologize Mr. Schultz...it's my stomach, not my heart...

busy busy...

last night i finished training at the old store, and tonight i work my first shift as a permanent member of the Starbucks team...

someone throw me a fucking Mug Award...

i'm still a little rusty when it comes to making drinks, I hope it doesn't hinder my responsibilities for enhancing and maintaining our customers self-esteem through non-burnt the fuck up, unproperly steamed milk...

I know this sounds a bit dorky...but i get a real kick out of putting on that little green apron...it's a symbol for American capitolism...and that's as patriotic as this newly certified barista is ever going to get...

wish me luck, capt....

i could think of at least ten things more interesting than unloading our first retail/paper order...

the store is absolutely awesome, everything is new, AND we get to wear headsets, which is probably a lot less amusing than it should be...

don't mind me...my virginity has nearly grown back...

yesterday, i made my first official starbucks drink

iced grande soy caramel macchaito...

one day, i shall be embarassed that i ever spelled that wrong...

charity event tonight...we pre-packaged tons of mini coffee samples for some sort of Literacy event...hopefully, nobody will spill anything, because, frankly...mops are not my "thing"

Last week, we prepared...

Today, we begin...

Starbucks Coffee Company is one of the fastest, hippest, sexiest, safest, and uber-flexible jobs a college chica can have...but that's not why i'm working there...

I'm working for the free pound of coffee a week :)

After I leave school, i've got to run home, throw on some sneakers and an old dirty, worthless/timeless t-shirt piece, and haul ass to the new store, our store...we're going to be assembling tables, laying down mats, pranking Dr. Evil on speed dial...

I've been training at one of the older stores for a week now...and I must say it's not as glamourous as I had once imagined...I don't even get to touch the espresso bar until i'm fully equipped with the coffee knowledge needed to prepare myself for the fun stuff...

more later...